Complete Guide for Wi-Fi Sense in Windows 10

Wi-Fi Sense is a feature that does two very important things. It can help automatically connect you to local, open Wi-Fi network and it can help share your own Wi-Fi credentials with your friends and contacts, but without the security compromise.

When you visit your friend’s house or place of business, Windows 10 can automatically sign you into their Wi-Fi, if they’ve shared it with you.

How to Configure Wi-Fi Sense

You can control Wi-Fi Sense from the Settings app, Select Network and Internet > select Wi-Fi and select Manage Wi-Fi settings. From here, you can disable Wi-Fi Sense entirely if you like and choose whether Wi-Fi Sense automatically connects you to networks shared by your contacts.

You can also select which types of contact Wi-Fi Sense shares connections details with like Outlook.com, Skype and Facebook contacts.You’ll also see which of your known networks you’ve shared and which you haven’t. You can quickly choose to share a Wi-Fi network you’ve connected to in the past, or unshare a network you’ve previously chosen to share.

How to Share Wi-Fi Networks with Your Outlook, Skype and Facebook Contacts

When you connect to a Wi-Fi network in Windows 10, you’ll see a “Share Network with My Contacts” checkbox. If you check this box, the connection details are automatically shared with your contacts using Windows 10 devices. The Wi-Fi Sense feature will detect when it’s near a shared network and automatically connect.

If you want to give your friends easy access to your home Wi-Fi network, this feature allow you to do it assuming they use Window 10 devices.

How to Disable Wi-Fi Sense in Windows 10

First, open the Start Menu and tap the Settings > Network and Internet > Wi-Fi > Manage Wi-Fi Settings. In here, you basically want to disable every option you see, as well as tell Windows 10 to forget any Wi-Fi network you’ve signed into in the past.

There is another trick to disable Wi-Fi Sense, you need to dive into your actual router’s settings and give your network a new name with “_optout” at the end. For example, a network called “RahulWiFi_optout” wouldn’t be stored by Wi-Fi Sense, while one that’s just called “RahulWiFi” would be usable with Microsoft’s sharing feature.

Common Tips to Stay Safe on Public Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi hacking is the most common threat when it comes to public Wi-Fi. When you connect to an public Wi-Fi network (i.e. coffee shop, airport, or hotel), others maybe able to intercept your Internet traffic, collecting your passwords, private photos, emails, browser cookies and a lot more personal info. Wi-Fi tracking is even more worrying as most smartphone users have their Wi-Fi on all the time. This is increasingly an issue as retailers can use your Wi-Fi signal to track how you move around stores or around the city and even identify who you are. Here are some tips to stay safe on Public Wi-Fi

1. Turn Off Sharing : You may share your music library, printers or files or even allow remote login from other computers on your Wi-Fi network in the privacy of your own home, disable these settings before connecting to a public Wi-Fi network.

2. Use VPN : The most secure way to browse on a public network is to use a virtual private network.

3. Avoid Automatically Connecting to Wi-Fi Hotspots : This feature allow your device to connect to public network without your express permission, you may also connecting to malicious networks set up specifically to steal your information.

4. Use HTTPS : You can create this encrypted connection with the browser extension HTTPS Everywhere. With this plugin enabled, almost all website connections are secured with HTTPS, ensuring that any data transfer is safe from prying eyes.

5. Use Two-Factor Authentication : You can protect Gmail account with two factor authentication which require password and code sent to your mobile number to log in to your account.

6. Turn on Your Firewall : Most OS’s include a built-in firewall, which monitors incoming and outgoing connections. A firewall won’t provide complete protection, but it’s a setting that should always be enabled.

7. Run Anti-Virus Software : Always running up-to-date anti-virus software can help provide the first alert if your system has been compromised while connected to an unsecured network. An alert will be displayed if any known viruses are loaded onto your PC or if there’s any suspicious behavior, such as modifications to registry files.